Kohji Kakimoto*, Yasuko Nakano*, Yoshito Shirai**, Hiroaki Ogawa* and Yasuhiko Kato***

*Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Engineering, Kyushu Institute of Technology
**Department of Biochemical Engineering and Science, Faculty of Computer Science and Systems Engineering, Kyushu Institute of Technology
***Professor Emeritus of Kyushu Institute of Technology

+ Correspondence should be addressed to Kohji Kakimoto:
(1-1 Sensuicho, Tobata-ku, Kitakyushu-city, Fukuoka 804-8550 Japan)

Abstract

To establish a new method of reclamating the coal ash yielded through pulverized coal firing and fluidized bed, we studied how to make effective use of this coal ash as an absorbent of various toxic or, in other ways, detrimental materials, after having applied a simple physical treatment (granulating or pelletizing it) .

The pellet, whose additional amount of cement is 3 wt%, and whose grain size is approx. 3mm, has proved to have a preferable absorptivity for oils and agricultural chemicals. Thus, it has been proved that coal ash can serve as an absorbent in soil contaminated by oils and other organic chemicals at disused plant sites or plant sites still in operation, and can help to prevent water pollution from soil contaminated by the spraying of agricultural chemicals on golf courses.

Key words: granulated coal ash, adsorption, agricultural chemicals, oil